Always a Way Out
by NeedanEscape18
Summary: Tony thinks about a certain conversation concerning the Captain and himself right after Coulson's death. More than 2 chapters, maybe 3 or 4, sound good?
1. Chapter 1

_**Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?**_

The question rang loud and clear as I overlook what used to be Loki's holding cell. Of course I had to respond to defend myself.

_**Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.**_

_**I know guys with none of that worth ten of you.**_

Now that really stung, Capsicle doesn't even really know who I am and what I've been through! He has no right!

_**I've seen the footage; the only person you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl all over you.**_

I smirk at the memory of what I had said next.

_**I think I would just cut the wire.**_

Oh, Rogers' face at that one was really priceless. But of course he had to go further and rub more salt into the already deeply open wounds.

**Always a way out. **_**You know you **_**may**_** not be a threat but you better **_**stop**_** pretending to be a hero.**_

"Was he married?" Rogers asks quietly.

_Jesus!_ I thought as I flinch slightly. _I gotta stop getting too deep into my thoughts like that. Oh yeah, Rogers is still waiting for an answer._

"No," I respond quickly, "there was I cellist. I think."

It's silent for a moment, then he speaks again.

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

I scoff, "He was an idiot."

This is true. He should have…If I could've fixed the engine sooner…He wouldn't be…

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone," I sigh. I considered Agent Coulson a rather close friend despite my previous hostile behaviors.

"He was doing his job."

_I know_, "Ugh, he was out of his league, he should've waited. He should've…"

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."

God, I am so sick of hearing that. _How do you think I created the first Arc Reactor? How do think I built the first Iron Man suit? How do you think I found the terrorists who were using my life legacy to kill innocent civilians and then made said terrorists pay?_ I want to scream all these things at Mr. 70-Year-Ice-Nap, but I settle for the more subtle approach.

"Right, that worked out for him," I snarl.

"Is this the first time you have lost a soldier," I snap.

I whirl facing Rogers with vicious sneer, "We are _not _soldiers."

_**Authors Note**_

This is a two-shot, I will upload part 2 tomorrow because I'm too exhausted right now and I cannot concentrate enough to write.

Till tomorrow, I hope you like! :)

**-NeedanEscape**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_I whirl facing Rogers with vicious sneer, "We are _not_soldiers."_

Rogers straightens like a true soldier almost just to spite me. I look away.

"I'm not marching to Fury's fife," I explain.

He shakes his head, "Neither am I, he's got as much blood on his hands the Loki does. But right now we got to put this behind us and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can make up a list…"

"He made it personal," I cut in as I look down at the blood left from Coulson's wound.

Rogers gives me an exasperated look, "That's not the point."

"That is the point," I insist, "that's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live, why?"

"To tear us apart," he says as he begins to catch on.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is…great, but, he knows he has to take us out to beat us, right, that's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it," I pause as I recall Stuttgart, "he wants an audience."

Rogers points out what I had been thinking already, "Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Right," I say, "that's just previews, this is opening night and Loki, he's a full-scale diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the sky with his name plastered…" I pause as realization dawns on me.

Rogers raises his eyebrows in question.

"Son of a bitch," I hiss. I walk back the way Rogers had come.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asks.

I turn back to him, "He's using the Arc Reactor at Stark Tower to power the Tesseract, do you know what that means now?"

He sighs heavily under his breath and puts on his 'Captain America-I-am-the-leader-here-don't-fuck-with-me' face.

"I'll assemble the team, do you want to get a head start?" he asks.

I raise one eyebrow. _Is he actually being nice to me?_ "Yeah, sure. Meet you there."

He nods and turn to leave again, but he stops me one last time.

"Hey, Tony?"

"Hmm?" I ask.

He looks at me with a serious expression, "Be careful."

_Now, what does that mean?_

_**Author's Note**  
_

_I know this is short and I know I was gonna only do a two-shot, but I want to go a little more. Maybe 1 or 2 more chapters! So always, REVIEW FOR ME!  
_

**-NeedanEscape18_  
_**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_He looks at me with a serious expression, "Be careful."_

"How will your friends have time for me? When they're so busy fighting you?" Loki sneers and raises the as I like to call it 'glow stick of destiny' to my chest and…nothing. He raises it again and…nothing…again. For the first time I am grateful the Arc is there.

"This usually works," he says dejectedly.

"Well performance issues," I wince, "-not uncommon, one out of five."

His hand shoots out so fast and I jump from the shot before being thrown across the floor worthlessly.

"JARVIS, anytime now," I wheeze and growl when the hand wraps around my throat again.

"You will all fall before me," Loki snarls.

"Deploy," I call out and Loki lifts me up off the ground.

"_Deploy_," I rasp. Then I'm flying out the window of tower with a yell. For the briefest second a thought strikes me.

_**Big man in a suit of armor, take that away, what are you?**_

The suit latches on to my body quickly enough to brush the thought aside but its still there.

_Guess we'll just have to wait and see what I am without it_, I sigh internally.

"_I can shut the portal down_," Widow calls out through the comm link.

"_Do it_!" Steve barks.

"_Wait!_" I cut in.

"_Stark, these things are still coming_," he exclaims.

"_I have a nuke coming in and its going to blow in two minutes_," I state calmly.

Everything that happens after that, grabbing the warhead and directing it into the portal, feeling the oxygen slowly leaving the suit.

_I guess without the suit, the man will suffocate_, is my last thought before blacking out.

I hear labored breathing, but I can't bring myself to surface from the sea of darkness. Only when a sharp roar sounds do I waken with sharp, gasping breaths.

"What the hell? What just happened?" When no one answered me I feared the worst.

"Please tell me nobody kissed me," I rasp.

Steve looks at me fondly, smiling and shaking his head before declaring, "We won."

I literally let go of the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Alright, yay," I say unenthusiastically.

Steve reaches out and grabs my shoulder with a sorrowful and shaken frown on his face, "Glad you're not dead."

I smile tiredly and place my hand over his, "Couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?"

He barks out a laugh and then the tears start to fall silently down his cheeks. I hold tighter to his hand.

"It's okay now," I whisper to him as if consoling a child, completely ignoring Thor and Hulk.

He nods, pulling himself together and standing, back to the warrior.

"Let's finish this," he says emotionlessly and I want to see his softer side again.

_OMG, I am not having these thoughts about Cap right now._

_**Author's Note**  
_

_I know I hate leave it like this but I'm tired and i have a job interview tomorrow! The next chapter might be the last, with maybe an epilogue. Leave me comments please, I need the love! Sorry for the late update hope this semi-longer chapter makes up for it!  
_

**-NeedanEscape18_  
_**


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